Henry Harris speaks the language of humble, provincial French cuisine with fluency, and his traditional rabbit with mustard sauce (or lapin à la moutarde) is suitably classy - quick to produce and tasty. The chef recommends using good quality Dijon mustard for this rabbit with mustard recipe, and to only whisk it in just before serving - this will help to retain the vibrancy of flavour

Add a knob of butter to a stainless steel pan and allow to melt over a medium heat. Add the shallots, cook until soft, then add the garlic. Cook for a further 30 seconds, shaking the pan to distribute evenly, then add a good splash of white wine

1 knob of butter

2 shallots, peeled and chopped

1 garlic clove, chopped

white wine

3

Bring to the boil, reduce the wine by half, then pour in the stock and reduce by half again

100ml of chicken stock

4

Add the whipping cream and bring to a gentle simmer. Cook until slightly thickened - this should take approximately 5 minutes. Season and set aside

200ml of whipping cream

salt

pepper

5

To cook the rabbit, add a knob of butter to a heavy, cast iron dish. Heat until foaming, then season the rabbit legs with salt and pepper and add to the pan. Cook over a medium heat, making sure you turn the legs often to achieve a golden-brown colour all over. If you are concerned that the butter may start to burn, add an equal amount of olive oil while the butter is melting

4 rabbit legs, large

1 knob of butter

olive oil

salt

pepper

6

Place the dish in the oven and cook for 10 minutes, until the rabbit is cooked through and tender. Remove from the oven, keep warm and lay the bacon rashers out on a baking sheet. Cook until crisp, then leave to rest in a warm place

8 rashers of smoked streaky bacon

7

Add the beans to a pan with a large knob of butter to gently heat through. Quickly reheat the sauce until warmed through, then whisk in the mustard - this must be done speedily so that the flavour of the mustard remains vibrant.

2 tbsp of Dijon mustard

250g of French beans, blanched

1 knob of butter

8

Divide the beans onto plates, then top each mound of beans with a rabbit leg, placing the bacon on top. Pour the sauce into the base of the dish and serve immediately

Want more recipes like this delivered to your inbox?

Sign up to our newsletter now and we'll send you a hand-picked round-up of the best seasonal recipes and features from the best chefs each week.

Your information will only be used in accordance with our privacy policy.

Invalid email address

Thanks for subscribing

We'll only contact you around once per week with the best recipes and features. You can unsubscribe at any time.